Canadian Cannabis Producer Aphria (APHA) said Friday that CEO Vic Neufeld will be eliminated in the coming months. A decision that insisted it had nothing to do with allegations of self-selling by two short sellers month ago. Aphria shares and other marijuana shares jumped above all Tilray (TLRY).

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Tilray rose after Privateer Holdings, which controls the company, said the supply of Tilray shares will remain limited

Vic Neufeld, CEO of Aphria resigns

Vic Neufeld, CEO Aphria wants to resign, while co-chairman and co-founder Cole Cacciavillani will also resign from his leadership role. Both, however, remain on the board of the company. During a telephone conference to discuss Aphria's revenue for the second quarter of the financial sector, management said that no transition monitoring committee had yet been set up.

Both Neufeld and Irwin Simon, who replaced Neufeld as chairman last month, said the transition had "nothing". with the allegations of the short sellers, Hindenburg Research and Quintessential Capital, or a subsequent review by a special panel.

"It was a matter of time," said Aphria chief Vic Neufeld during the call.

In a statement released earlier in the day, Neufeld said: "Building and running a business like Aphria, which exploded from an idea in late 2013 to our numerous successes, was an incredible journey despite the high cost of having health, family and personal priorities. "

Cacciavillan affirmed this feeling. "Endless meetings, travel, appointments, talent search – the list of leadership responsibilities will only continue to grow," he said in the statement. Aphria Short-Seller Drama

Short-sellers Quintessential Capital and Hindenburg Research accused Aphria of overpaying on largely worthless real estate in Latin America and the Caribbean to secretly enrich insiders. The short sellers claimed that Aphria's purchases had been staged by Shell companies to cover their tracks. The shares of Aphria crashed after the publication of the report.

The sellers announced that the acquired assets contained a farm in Jamaica and a pharmacy they could not find. Aphria called the allegations "false and defamatory" and said the companies are either licensed or operational.

The company commissioned the special panel to review the transactions. Vic Neufeld, CEO of Aphria, promised to refute the allegations line by line. However, the company delayed it until it was reviewed by the committee.

It was unclear when this review could be completed. When asked on Friday if the public could expect this review to end in days, weeks, or months, Neufeld said, "It's not days, but it will take a little longer."

Green Growth for Aphria [19659005] The drama escalated at the end of last month when Aphria rejected a takeover bid by a US company called Green Growth Brands. Aphria said at the time that the deal "undervalued" the company significantly. Hindenburg questioned the relationship of Green Growth to Aphria.

Green Growth later said that it is "not a related party to Aphria" and that Aphria, to its knowledge, has no interest in Green Growth.

"Participating in the small but growing cannabis industry, there are many overlapping informal relationships among participants," said Green Growth.

Reporters from Bloomberg confirmed in a story published on Saturday the existence of the farm and the shop. The showcases and shelves of the store were empty. Quintessential told the store it was up to his research.

Quintessential tweeted on Friday that the announcement of changes to the management "clearly confirms our brief thesis".

"With a new management team, the company has the opportunity to establish a brighter future, and we will accordingly move on to new projects," Quintessential said.

Aphria Earnings

Aphria sales increased 63% to 21.7 million Canadian dollars. Adjusted earnings at Aphria increased from $ 5.76 million a year ago to $ 10.16 million. Zacks estimates were not available.

The average selling price, including excise taxes, decreased to $ 6.54 per gram in the quarter, from $ 7.12 in the previous quarter.

The kilogram equivalents sold increased 92% from Q1. The all-in cost of goods sold increased from 1.83 in the previous quarter to 2.60 Canadian dollars per gram.

Adjusted gross margin declined from 64% in the previous quarter to 47% due to lower effective selling prices for adults. Market use. Temporarily lower yields were also weighed. The production costs for the expansion of the plants and the implementation of the automation were also higher.

Aphria sees new production facilities approved by Health Canada later this year, increasing the annual harvest to 255,000 kilograms. By comparison, there are currently 35,000 kilograms at the end of the 2019 calendar.

Aprhia Stock, Tilray Stock, Other Marijuana Stocks

The Aphria stock jumped 7.9% this morning. Aphria began trading on the NYSE on November 2, and is still listed in Canada.

Tilray shares rose 23% early. Privateer Holdings said it would not sell its 75 million shares when the Tilray Stock Exchange expires next week. Tilray shares are the first and only US IPO of a marijuana maker.

US-listed Canadian marijuana stocks have fallen in Canada since legal legalization began.

Latest Marijuana Stocks: A Shoe Store

On Thursday, Green Growth Brands announced that it had partnered with the footwear retail chain DSW (DSW) to develop CBD personal care products from 96 hemp DSW stores in the US for sale.

The Products Sold on the Internet The seventh Sense Botanical Therapy brand includes muscle balms, foot creams, lotions and body washes, said Green Growth. Behind Green Growth is the family Schottenstein, which earns its money in retail. The family is also an investor in DSW. Jay Schottenstein is the Chief Executive Officer of DSW and also the Chief Executive Officer of American Eagle Outfitters (AEO).

Her debut was to follow the signing of the 2018 Farm Bill by President Donald Trump, who legalized industrial hemp. However, the rules for hemp vary from area to area. The FDA also still has a regulator for products containing cannabis or derivatives, the agency said last month.

"North America's widespread adoption of the use of CBD products is one of the best examples of these shifts, and we could no longer look forward to our partnership with Green Growth Brands and the introduction of their products to our business customers," he said continued.